Disposable cleaning aid



Jan. 4, 1966 I E P. CHARLAP 3,226,753

DISPOSABLE CLEANING AID Filed Jan. 9, 1963 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent r 3,226,753 DISPOSABLE CLEANING AID E Paul Charlap, 187 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, NY. Filed Jan. 9, 1963,,Ser. No. 250,249 5 Claims. (Cl. 15-210) The present invention relates to a novel cleaning article, pad or aid which is inexpensive and efiicient in its purpose, yet readily disposable through the sanitary system of any household. I

The cleaning aid of the present invention is characterized by a water-soluble material. It may consist of such a material impregnated with a detergent, or in fact may be comprised of one or more components, at least one'of which is water soluble and either of which may be impregnated with a detergent and/or an abrasive.

In order that the cleaningaid may be readily disposable through the homefacilities, it must at least be water-soluble in part, to an extent that its pad-like or bulky mass is alterable in form sufiiciently to be accommodated by the facility. Such alteration may proceed along the lines of a disintegration or break-up, pieceby piece, or as a partial separation or solubilization to the extent that theoriginal article configuration or mass is substantially diminished along at least one of its major dimensions to permit the new configuration or pieces or parts thereof to pass through the drainage pipes of the disposalsystem.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cleaning aid is comprised of at least a body component and a connecting component, one or both of which are water, soluble. Such an aid admits of the supplemental use of a detergent, scouring powder or the like in cleansing. Alternatively, either component may be impregnated with a cleansing supplement. In the event one component is more quickly soluble than the other it is preferable that the component which is primarily responsible for maintaining the original configuration of the article dissolve more readily in order that the cleansing aid is morequickly disposable. Similarly, when one of the components is not soluble, it is desirable that the soluble component be the one which is primarily responsible for maintaining the original article configuration. V

The cleaning aid of the foregoing description is particularly adapted, for example, for the housewife in cleaning pots, pans, bath tubs, or other implements which may be at an elevated temperature and thereafter is disposable in a cold-water facility. It will also be appreciated that the invention may employ one or more components having inverse solubility whereby .objects with relatively low temperatures may be readily cleaned and disposal may be accomplished through a hot water facility. Moreover, an object such as a bathtub, atanelevated temperature, could be cleaned; with the component soluble under elevated temperatures dissolving during the cleansing action to leave any residue readily disposable through the sanitary facility. I

The invention will be more particularly described with respect to certain specific embodiments thereof, but in each instance a Water-soluble material such as an .elastomer, suitable resin or polymer, is employed in the cleansing aid. Such a material may primarily constitute the article, or either or both its body or connecting component. Specific examples of water-soluble materials, water-insoluble materials, and some information withrespect to the rates of solubility will be presented in connection with the embodiments hereinafter to be described.

With the foregoing in mind, among the objects of the invention its the provision of a disposable cleaning aid.

A further object is the provision of such an aid which is inexpensive to fabricate yet susceptible to employment with an incorporated detergent or a detergent supplemental thereto.

embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 4 is a view in cross-section of the structure of FIG. 3, as seen along the plane 4-4 thereof;

FIG. Sis a plan view of one component of a particular embodiment of the invention;

FIG. dis a plan View of such ing a second component thereof;

FIG. 7 is a view inperspective of a embodiment incorporatportion of a further FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 7 as seen along the plane 88.

In FIG. 1 a cleaning pad or aid is generally, shown at 11 and is comprised of a plurality of cubes or blocks, such as the pieces 13 and 15.

The pad or cleaning'aid is held together by the elongated thread-like connector 17, which pierces each piece and sews the blocks together. An ordinary hand size pad may include, by way of-example, 244 blocks tightly sewn, or in fact connected together by adhesive, to form the pad 11. In either event, preferably the connective material, either the thread 17 or adhesive (not shown) is water soluble or at least more readily Water soluble than the blocks '13 and 15.

Obviously, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, if impregnation by either detergent or an abrasive, or both, of the pad 11 is desired, such material will preferably appear in the body building blocks 13 and 15. The pad 11 may be gripped by the user and employed in a cleansing manner.

Depending upon the degree of solubility, the pad will maintain the configuration of FIG. 1 throughout the cleansing operation or for a period suflicient to justify its purpose. Thereafter, the connective material, such as the thread 17, will dissolve to cause the pad 11 to lose its original configuration. It will simply consist of a plurality of disassociated blocks, such asblock 13; If the thread 17 or its alternative adhesive (not shown) is readily soluble, this disintegration may occur during the cleaning operation in which event the user simply disposes of the conglomerate pieces by flushing them through the sanitary facilities. Otherwise, once the user has concluded the cleansing operation, the pad may be discarded into the sanitary facility to permit dissolving of the connective thread 17 or its counterpart to provide a readily disposable conglomeration.

Suitable materials for the pad 11 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may comprise cellulose sponge as the blocks 13, 15, etc. with the thread material 17 being, for example, comprised of polyvinyl alcohol or carboxyethyl cellulose. Such a construction provides a relatively insoluble body material in the form of the blocks 13 and a relatively soluble .connective thread 17 therefor. Any ordinary detergent or abrastive normally useful in cleaning pads may be employed in the structure.

Other examples of suitable materials for use in connection with the pad of FIGS. 1 and 2 include waterstructure of soluble connecting materials selectable from the following list:

Cellulose acetate Polyvinyl methyl ether Polyamide Polyacrylic acids and their salts Ethyl cellulose Carboxymethyl dextrin Dextrin Polyvinvyl pyrrolidone The foregoing list is by way of example only, and it is to be understood that many other suitable watersoluble materials may readily be employed, following the teachings of this invention.

Other than the celluluose sponge materials the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be fabricated from paper treated or impregnated with urea formaldehyde, melamine formaldehyde, or suitable resins and the like to constitute a water-insoluble body.

An alternative embodiment of the invention. is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and constitutes a pad 21 basically comprising warf components 23 and woof components 25, either or both which may be water soluble, of the same or different degrees and either or both of which may be impregnated by a suitable detergent or abrasive or combination thereof. In this embodiment, the water insoluble strands may comprise hemp or glass fibers or threads, rayon or nylon fibers or threads (and most synthetic fibers in general), or even strands of treated paper. The soluble strands may comprise one or more of the materials listed. Such a cleaning aid 21 has more applicability in scouring than the cleaning aid 11 of FIG. 1 which is more absorbent and consequently softer in its cleansing function.

It should be pointed out that a material such as polyvinyl methyl ether exhibits inverse solubility and, as such, is useful as a component of a pad in accordance with this invention. For example, if it constituted the strands 23 of the pad 21, then the pads would be useful in cleansing in hot water and suitable for ready disposal in a cold-water facility.

In contrast to the foregoing embodiments, the forms of the invention exhibited in FIGS. 5 and 6 and also FIGS 7 and 8 may perform cleansing functions of a caliber intermediate to those above discussed. For example, in FIG. 5 a plurality of threads, fibers or hairs 27 is laid down in crossed or even haphazard arrangement but, in any event, they simply constitute a base or foundation. The fibers, threads or hairs 27 are then impregnated by a film or sheet 29 of preferably a water-soluble elastorner, resin or polymer to form the pad 31. Naturally, the pad is trimmed to give it a suitable commercial appearance and, as in the case of the other embodiments, may or may not include a detergent and/or abrasive material.

In this embodiment, it is more desirable that the film or sheet 29 be the water-soluble material or at least the more readily soluble material in the pad 31 because the film defines the dimensions of the film which must be di-' minished in order to permit ready disposal of the pad. It is obvious, of course, that the threads 27, once disassociated, will readily flush down the drain.

In the event it is desirable to fabricate the pad 31 of all soluble material or components, it is useful to form the film 29 from a more readily soluble material, such as polyvinyl alcohol with the threads 27 being, for example, carboxyethyl cellulose, thereby facilitating disposal through more rapid dissolving of the binder film 29, but commensurate with a useful life of several minutes.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 permits a corrugated type cleansing aid or pad 41 which generally consists of a film 43 having secured thereto a plurality of ribs or the like 45. Here again, the largest dimensions of the pad 41 are maintained by the film 43 and therefore it is desirable that the film comprises the soluble or at least more soluble material of Y the pad 41. The ribs 45 may be incorporated into the pad 41 as film 43 is set or they be incorporated thereon by a suitable adhesive or binder. In any event, once the film 43 is dissolved, or partially so, the ribs 45 will provide no disposal problem. Suitable materials for these components may be selected from those previously presented herein.

While the foregoing embodiments serve to illustrate the invention, nevertheless the principles taught herein are susceptive to other and further embodiments, e.g., it will readily occur to one skilled in the art that tubes (similar to straws or the like) could be held together with threads or fibers in mat-like configuration to provide a cleansing aid of the aforementioned type. For this reason, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the specific embodiments herein set forth, but rather by the scope of the appended claims wherein what is claimed is:

1. A disposable cleansing aid comprising in combination a body component and a connecting component, said connecting component initially holding said body component together, at least one of said components being more water soluble in cold water than in hot water.

2. A disposable cleansing aid comprising a pad including at least two components; a body material of blocks comprising one of said components; and a threadlike connecting material connecting said blocks together comprising another of said components; said another of said materials being more readily soluble than the other.

3. A disposable cleansing aid comprising a pad constituted of at least two components; a body material comprising one of said components; and a connecting material comprising another of said components, one of said materials characterized by inverse solubility, being more soluble to unheated water than heated water.

4. A disposable cleansing aid comprising in combination a body component and connecting component, said connecting component being thread-like, soluble and serving :to connect said body component so as to hold it together initially.

5. The cleansing aid of claim 1 wherein said one Of said components is polyvinyl methyl ether.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,786,513 12/1930 Zuckerman 15209 X 2,038,957 4/1936 Reach 15-209 X 2,395,068 2/1946 Rimer l5506 X 3,062,030 11/1962 Groves 6817 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISPOSABLE CLEANSING AID COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A BODY COMPONENT AND A CONNECTING COMPONENT, SAID CONNECTING COMPONENT INITIALLY HOLDING SAID BODY COMPONENT TOGETHER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID COMPONENTS BEING MORE WATER SOLUBLE IN COLD WATER THAN IN HOT WATER. 